pretext

🇺🇸 /ˈpriːtekst/ 🇬🇧 /ˈpriːtekst/
Frequency
Difficulty
Tags TOP20000
noun
R

a false reason given to hide the real reason for doing something

She used a headache as a pretext to leave the meeting early.

translation

n. a false reason given to hide the real reason for doing something

Word Forms

Plural pretexts